Avoiding Cancer

Although it is not conclusive that exercise can reduce the risks of getting cancer, it is certainly true that maintaining a normal weight and leading a healthy lifestyle can lower your chances of having cancer.

It is definitive that physically active men and women have around a forty to fifty percent less likely chance to develop colon cancer. The thought behind this is that physical activity allows your colon to process food and waste products more quickly, therefore allowing your colon less exposure to cancer-causing substances.

Breast cancer risks can be reduced as well with physical activity. However, the evidence is not as conclusive as it is for colon cancer. Active women have a thirty to forty percent less likely chance to develop breast cancer, because physical activity decreases a woman's exposure to estrogen. (In men, exercise can reduce testosterone exposure which allows for a lower chance of gaining prostate cancer.)

Some other benefits to exercise are as follows:

• boosting your immune system
• decreasing the amount of insulin circulating in your blood
• reducing levels of other hormones (excluding estrogen and testosterone)
• losing weight

Depressed?

Clinical depression is normally treated with therapy and anti-depressants. However, exercise seems to also show as a positive coping mechanism.

Aerobic exercise and strength training can actually be as effective as taking an anti-depressant or seeing a psychotherapist. The research isn't definitive, but there have been several studies that show regular exercise routines can help those with major depressive disorder.

So, if thats the case, aerobic exercise or weightlifting? Oddly enough, either form of exercise is equally effective. It seems that relaxation and stretching, like yoga, don't show effective results. It may also be helpful to join a gym that holds group exercise classes as social interaction can be of some assistance to cheering up the soul. (:

What makes exercise a useful treatment in fighting depression? Regular workouts usually provoke chemical changes in the brain, which correct imbalances of neurotransmitters like serotonin. Exercise also boosts self-esteem and body image. With the combination of these two results, exercise is a great way to fight depression.

What does metabolism actually mean?

Your metabolism, scientifically speaking, is the rate at which your body uses energy at any given moment, or in other words, the rate at which your body burns calories no matter what you're doing, whether it be watching a movie or going for an afternoon run.

Metabolism is used in many contexts. For example, you've probably heard a friend say, "I have such a slow metabolism!" Most often when he says that, he means, his metabolism is resting. A resting metabolism is the calorie burn required to keep your body alive and moving. Your resting metabolism is always around, because even when you're sleeping, your body needs energy to keep your heart rate up, your kidney's functioning, etc.

So what does your resting metabolism account for? Normally, it accounts for 60 to 75 percent of your total calorie burn for the day. However, your active metabolism accounts for 15 to 30 percent which is totally dependent on how much you move around during the day. The thing about your body is that it always requires spending energy to do anything. So, even when you're eating and digesting your food, you're still burning calories, although not much, just 5 to 10 percent. Nevertheless, your resting metabolic rate is personalized, meaning everyone's rate is different. It depends on your body size, genetics, and your muscle mass.

Heart Disease? (Obesity-Related Diseases)

It is important to be aware of the risks of having either or both high blood pressure and high cholesterol as it can eventually lead heart disease and stroke. Obesity can cause you to have high blood pressure and/or a high cholesterol level. However, the good news is that by simply losing a few pounds by either beginning to eat healthier or exercise for just a few minutes a day, you will be able to lower your chances of developing heart disease or having a stroke.

Closer Look: Binge-Eating Disorder

Binge-Eating Disorder is classified as an eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS). However, it does not have a life-threatening consequence. Binge-Eating Disorder is defined as exhibiting recurrent binge eating without following a compensatory type of behavior like purging.

Symptoms include:

• frequent intake of large amounts of food in a short duration of time
• having no sense of control over eating during an episode
• feeling guilty, disgusted, and depressed because of over eating 
• eating alone because embarrassed of the amount of food intake 
• eating when not hungry/eating when uncomfortably full

Since no compensatory behavior takes place, BED can ultimately lead to clinical obesity. With obesity comes the regular health risks of being overweight. Some health risks include: 

• high blood pressure
• high cholesterol
• heart disease
• diabetes (type 2)
• gallbladder disease
• musculoskeletal issues

Binge-Eating Disorder effects more women than men. Some people who suffer with BED can be of average or above average weight. Most people feel shame and guilt for their overeating. BED is often associated with depression. 

Closer Look: Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS)

EDNOS is having a combination of signs and symptoms of both Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. Thus, like each disorder, EDNOS can lead to death.

Since EDNOS is not one specific disorder, but a combination of two defined disorders, the signs and symptoms are the same as those of each disorder. You can show signs from both disorders.

However, there are some discrepancies with EDNOS. Some examples include:

• in females, menstruation still occurs although person still exhibits anorexic behavior
• all symptoms classify person as anorexic, but person exhibits normal range of weight (bulimia sign)
• compensatory behavior occurs less frequently than the criteria for Bulimia Nervosa 
• purging without binge behavior (can be referred to as purging disorder)

The commonality of all eating disorders is the emotional and physiological suffering you may be going through. 

Closer Look: Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia Nervosa is the action of bingeing with an intent to compensate the binge eating with self-induced vomiting. This type of eating disorder can lead to a life-threatening result. People with Bulimia Nervosa typically look to be of average weight.

Developing Bulimia Nervosa starts with regularly digesting large amounts of food at once showing no signs of control over when to stop eating and regularly compensating for over eating with behaviors like making yourself vomit, taking laxatives, fasting, and/or exercising excessively. Usually, you show major concern over your weight and body shape.

Like Anorexia Bulimia and any type of eating disorder, early detection is crucial for recovery. Therefore, knowing some of the signs of someone with Bulimia Nervosa is important.

• finding evidence that large amounts of food has been consumed in a short period of time
• constantly making excuses to use the bathroom right after a meal, followed by smelling of vomit
• discovering laxatives
• unusual swelling of cheeks or jaws
• calluses on the back of hands and knuckles as a result of self-vomiting
• constant exercise no matter if injured, bad weather, busy
• living very routine in order to work in times to binge-purge 
• discoloration of teeth

Bulimia Nervosa does not just put your mental health at risk but also your physical health. The constant cycle of binge/purge can ruin your entire digestive system. Purging can also create electrolyte and chemical imbalances that can have an effect on your heart and other organs. More specifically, it can lead to irregular heart beats that can in turn cause heart failures. Purging can also cause inflammation and rupture in the esophagus and tooth decay. 

Closer Look: Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia Nervosa is characterized by self-proclaimed starvation and thus, excessive weight loss. It can develop in both male and female, but more commonly, it is seen in female adolescents.

It is important to know the symptoms of Anorexia Nervosa in order to be aware if either yourself or a loved one may be developing this disorder as recovery can be enhanced with early detection.

Some of the symptoms include: resistance to maintain your body weight at or above normal weight (according to age and height), intense fear of gaining weight or becoming "fat," disturbance of body weight or shape (e.g. denial of weight even though severely underweight), and a loss of menstrual periods in girls and women (post-puberty). If these symptoms turn into an actual dramatic loss of weight, denial of hunger, refusal to eat (including constant excuses being made around meal times), excessive exercise, and loss of interest in friends and hobbies, then it is crucial to seek help as you or a loved one may be in the process of developing an eating disorder.

Living with Anorexia Nervosa inhibits the body to functional normally, because the body is denied the essential nutrients. The body will start to slow down all of its processes to conserve energy, which eventually will lead to serious fatalities. Some health risks are as follows. The body's heart beat will become abnormally slow and blood pressure will start to lower. This puts the heart at risk for failure. The body's bone density will diminish causing the body to develop osteoporosis. The body will experience muscle loss and weakness; it will also become severely dehydrated, which can lead to kidney dysfunction. Although hair will begin to drop, hair will also begin to grow all over the body in attempts to keep it warm.

Becoming Aware of What an Eating Disorder Is

To many people, an eating disorder is starving yourself. It's more than that. It's time to become aware of what an eating disorder truly is.

Having an eating disorder is more than just a physical thing, its an emotional thing. People with eating disorders struggle with extreme emotions, attitudes, and behaviors that all have to do with food and weight. It can lead to a life-threatening consequence.

There are four different types of eating disorders. Anorexia Nervosa is characterized by self-starvation and excessive weight loss; this disorder can be life-threatening. Bulimia Nervosa can be defined by a cycle of bingeing, followed by self-driven compensatory behaviors such as vomiting; it can also be life-threatening. Binge-Eating Disorder is recurrent binge eating with no compensatory behaviors to follow. Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS) is a combination of Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa.

People who struggle with an eating disorder can seek recovery through treatment. Early detection is crucial to recovery as it may enhance recovery. Recovery is possible. However, it is possible with continued aftercare. Recovery usually takes a few years, and sometimes relapse is possible.

Developing Obesity

It may seem obvious how a person can become overweight and eventually obese, however, there are a few more factors than you might think can contribute to gaining weight. Therefore, getting yourself informed is a good way to either maintain or start living a more healthier life.

So, how do people become obese?

1. Consuming too many calories is the number one factor. Most people today may think they are sticking to a controlled portion, but over the years, portion size has increased. Thus, overtime the average calorie intake has increased greatly. For instance, in 1971, women were consuming 1,542 calories per day, but by 2004, that rate became 1,877 calories per day. In men, calorie consumption increased from 2,450 calories per day to 2,618 calories per day. 
2. Being a couch potato means more than just sitting in front of the television snacking. With the fast technological progression, we have become more sedentary. Instead of hand washing the dishes, we now rely on our dish washer. Instead of going out to play ball, we have resorted to turning on our televisions and watching others play ball. Instead of walking to the local grocery store, we now use our cars. We have become dependent on our cars to take us everywhere. Our lives have become more sedentary, and we are not as good about making up for the lack of motion. Only some of us manage to get a decent amount of exercise into our day. 
3. A lack of sleep is also a factor as our bodies produce less and less of the hormone Leptin, which suppresses appetite, and it allows our body to produce more of the hormone Gherlin, which stimulates appetite. 
4. Inducing artificially sweetened beverages can be a huge factor, especially in women, as those types of drinks are high in fructose sweetener. Since fructose is processed in the liver, which is also where the metabolism makes alterations based on its sugar intake level, consuming fructose-sweetened drinks causes the liver to express a pathology similar to a metabolic syndrome. Having a metabolic syndrome can cause lipid accumulation and eventually lead to hypertension, insulin-resistancy, diabetes, and obesity.
5. Certain medications can contribute to obesity. Therefore, it is crucial to check with your doctor the side effects of the medications he has prescribed you. 

BMI?

Many of you may have heard of the term BMI, but what really is BMI? BMI stands for Body Mass Index. The purpose of BMI is to assess your weight with an association to your height, basically, it measures your body fat.

The way your BMI is measured is by using a screening tool, which indirectly measures how much body fat your body really has. In mathematical ways, you would take your weight (in pounds) and multiply it by 703. Then, you would divide that number by your height (in inches). Finally, after you have done that, you would then take the new amount and divide it once more by your height (in inches). [For the metric system: your weight (in kilograms) is divided by your height (in meters squared) (kg/m^2)]

Based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define BMI-for-age of children at or above the 95th percentile as being overweight. However, for adults, being classified as overweight would mean that you had a BMI of 25 and 29.9 and obese with a BMI of 30 or over.

One precaution to take when measuring your BMI: Although the purpose of BMI is to determine your body fat, it can sometimes be inaccurate, as a muscleman may have a higher BMI than someone who is unfit because his muscle mass makes up most of his actual weight. BMI is useful to indicate a healthy weight for the "average person," someone who may not be a muscle builder but also not a couch potato.

High Blood Pressure and High Cholesterol and your chances of a heart attack (Obesity-Related Diseases)

High blood pressure and high cholesterol are two diseases that are among the top causes of death. However, it's easy to bring down your blood pressure level and cholesterol level by losing just several pounds.

Although most are aware of the risks of having high blood pressure, some might be wondering what causes one to have high blood pressure. As you grow older, your chances of having high blood pressure rises. Another factor, that if you are unconscious of, is your weight. The specific reason as to why obesity puts you at a higher risk is unknown, but researchers know for sure that obese people with high blood pressure express an increased blood volume and an arterial resistance.

Unfortunately, age is an uncontrollable factor. However, we can manage our weight by making health conscious choices in our lives, thus decreasing our chances of developing high blood pressure. According to professionals, people who are already overweight can bring their blood pressure down by losing as little as eight pounds.

Secondly, high cholesterol levels can put you at a very likely chance of developing heart disease. Cholesterol is transported through the blood in two ways. One way is through your low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Your LDL is responsible for transporting cholesterol to the cells that require it. Another way is through your high-density lipoprotein (HDL). Your HDL is something you can manage and regulate. It is basically your healthy cholesterol that helps decrease the chances your body may be in for heart attack. Obese and overweight people raise their chances by twenty percent by having high LDL levels. However, you can lower that level by losing weight and living healthy.

What risks are you at? (Obesity-Related Diseases)

It's time to get healthy! Becoming aware of some of the results of an unhealthy lifestyle is the first step.
The most common disease that your body is at risk for due to an unhealthy lifestyle is Type 2 Diabetes.

Type 2 Diabetes is the most common type of the disease; it develops when your body either is not able to produce insulin in the blood or the cells in your body ignore the insulin that your body produces.

Type 2 Diabetes can only develop as a result of an increase in a person's body mass index (BMI). Typically, those who become a Type 2 Diabetic usually have a BMI of 27 or greater, which is classified as overweight and unhealthy.

You might be curious as to how obesity can lead to Type 2 Diabetes. Well, obesity reduces insulin's ability to control your blood sugar level. Therefore, your body is at an increased risk of developing diabetes, because your body will start to overproduce insulin in order to regulate your blood sugar levels. Over time, your body will no longer be able to control your blood sugar levels and that is when you develop Type 2 Diabetes.

As Type 2 Diabetes is a result of being overweight, living with Type 2 Diabetes while being obese can complicate treatment. Obesity can make your body resistant to insulin and glucose intolerance, which in turn, makes the treatment for the disease less effective.

Bumpy skin?

Have you ever wondered what the bumpiness on your skin is, like maybe when you're walking and you see an unevenness to the skin on your thighs?

It's called cellulite. Cellulite is a variety of body fat that is stored a bit differently that other fat in your body. It primarily exists in the hip and thigh area.

A myth that weight-loss product manufacturers would have you believe is that cellulite is a unique kind of fat that is responsive to special treatments. The truth is cellulite is your basic body fat. It only appears ripply because it is compartmentalized by connective tissue called collagen.

Interesting facts about cellulite:

• about 85% of women and some small fraction of men develop cellulite after puberty
• active women who are lean and muscular have cellulite
• it is believed cellulite is caused by a combination of hormones, genes, and excess body fat
• there is no treatment for cellulite